


raw nerves can't kill me (but god do they want to)

by HearJessRoar



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Female Friendship, Gen, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, julie gets overwhelmed and her friends are just. great tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 08:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HearJessRoar/pseuds/HearJessRoar
Summary: Julie has a bad dayshake the bottle.
Relationships: Flynn & Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Flynn & Julie Molina
Comments: 19
Kudos: 120





	raw nerves can't kill me (but god do they want to)

Some days, Julie feels like an unopened bottle of soda that someone at the gas station has shaken up and put back in the fridge for someone else to fall victim to.

This rainy Wednesday in October is one of them.

She had woken up late, her hair tangled as she ran out the door to catch the bus. Flynn does her best to comb through it with her hands, but it doesn't help much, and Julie digs desperately for a hair tie.

It snaps in her hand as she wraps it around her hair for the second twist.

Shake the bottle.

Calculus, third period. Her homework is sitting neatly on her desk at home. Her hands buried in her knotted hair, Julie slumps in the desk and breathes through her nose.

Flynn whispers to her to ask one of the boys to get it for her, but Julie shakes her head. It doesn't work that way. Even if she called out with all her soul to her boys, if she doesn't hum something first, she's positive it won't work.

And she refuses to use them like that.

So she takes the disappointed look and the homework note, and feels her stomach sink through her chair.

Shake the bottle.

Accidents happen, but when they happen right on top of everything else, it starts to feel like the universe has it out for her.

Julie stares down at what used to be her lunch. The other girl is apologizing, tears in her eyes, but she sounds like she's underwater to Julie’s ears. Flynn’s arm comes from nowhere to wrap protectively around her shoulders, and tells the girl it's fine, please go away.

Julie had really been looking forward to lunch. Her dad had packed Tia Victoria's empanadas.

And now they were on the floor.

Shake the bottle.

And while the rest of the day passes without incident beyond her untied shoelaces nearly tripping her in the hallway, the rough start has left her in a mood for all of school.

Flynn keeps her arm around Julie for the entire bus ride and walk home. She's muttering something under her breath, but Julie is too consumed in her own head to fully understand it.

It's not until Flynn has dropped her onto her bed that Julie has even realized they've made it to her house. Julie looks up at her, and Flynn looks steadily back, taking her hand.

"I will be right back," she says, clearly and concisely. 

Julie’s ears ring as Flynn leaves her by herself in her own bedroom with nothing but her thoughts and the weight of the day resting on her neck.

Uncap the bottle.

Tears eke down her face and Julie hunches inwards, her chest heaving as she tries to hold herself together.

And it's stupid, she knows, it's just one bad day, not even the worst day she's ever had, but one bad day can feel like the end of the world and _where is Flynn?_

There's tears and snot and she sniffles as she pulls one of her pillows to her stomach, staring over it at the carpet.

A pair of sneakers appears, a second before gentle fingers rest on her shoulder.

She looks up.

Alex is looking at her with deep concern as he kneels down in front of her, taking both her hands in his.

"What do you need?" He asks, eyes directly on hers.

She hears Reggie and Luke pop into her room right behind her, and there's a bit of a ruckus. Julie can't help turning to look.

They're both in the process of shoving all the rings off their hands and onto her floor, their necklaces, shoes, and Reggie's leather jacket joining soon after.

They've made themselves as non-threatening as possible, she realizes. Taken off their pointed edges.

And that sets her off again.

She can't take it, throwing her arms around Alex's neck and sobbing into the collar of his soft sweatshirt. He wobbles but manages to catch her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. The pillow is crushed between them, making the angle awkward.

He makes shushing noises, rubbing her back. There's hands in her tangled hair, and she's pretty sure that Reggie is digging through her vanity for her wide tooth comb while Luke tries to sift through the knots with his fingers.

Reggie makes a little victory noise and the bed behind her shifts as he bounces onto it next to Luke.

Julie is pretty sure they're doing that thing where they communicate with a look, because without a word they've moved her around.

Luke is perched up on her pile of pillows, her back against his legs with her hair over his knees. Alex is on her side, his arm still over her shoulders in a way that would make it go numb if he'd still been alive. And Reggie has his arm slung across her stomach protectively from her other side.

The gentle tugging on her curls tells her that Luke has the comb now and is still trying to sort out her hair for her.

She sniffles, and tucks up under Alex’s chin as Reggie snakes his other arm around her middle.

"Ugh, you guys, I told you to wait until I could get her in comfy pants-"

"You wanted us to not immediately find her while she was crying _by herself_ , are you crazy Flynn?" Luke sounds insulted.

"Don't sass me, pretty boy. And Alex, move over and take your shoes off, for God's sake you guys-"

Alex makes a sound that's somewhere close to a growl, jostling her as he kicks off his sneakers.

Flynn has wormed her way between Julie and Alex, resting her head on Julie’s collarbone as her arms wrap around her to join Reggie's.

Reggie readjusts for Flynn, including her in his hug as well, his hands resting on her back as Alex drapes his other arm over both girls.

"I _told_ them to wait," Flynn mutters at her. "This is what I get for talking to an empty studio."

"We heard you," Luke says, having worked out most of the snags, his fingers combing soothingly over Julie’s scalp and behind her ears. "We heard you say, 'Julie' and 'upset' and that seemed like the important part."

And Julie’s heart and soul feel like they're aching but she feels so loved, she wants to cry again for an entirely different reason.

This is home, this is love, this is _family_.

**Author's Note:**

> this is an old old old piece that i did as a writing exercise one day and thought it was nice enough to be seen so why not post it here as well as my tumblr?
> 
> comment? validation? spare cuddle for jules?


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